Should I Tell My Insurance About Inspection Findings?
Yes. Insurers ask about the home's condition, and leaving out known issues like an old roof can cost you a claim later.
Free to compare
What they actually ask
The application usually asks when the roof, wiring, plumbing and heating were last replaced, and whether there's known damage. Answer based on what the inspection found, not what you hope is fine. Guessing wrong can count as a misstatement on your policy.
The roof's age
Roof age drives both price and whether you can get coverage at all. If the inspection says 15 years and you tell the insurer 10, that gap can surface at claim time. The insurer can deny payment or cancel your policy over it.
Repairs before closing
If the inspection found something like a failing water heater and you get it fixed before the policy starts, say so. Insurers price the house as it exists on day one. A documented repair can keep a condition from blocking coverage.
The cost of hiding it
A home insurance policy can be voided for misrepresentation. That means the insurer refunds your premium and pays nothing on a claim tied to the hidden issue, a worse outcome than a higher quote now, especially with a lender requiring coverage to stay in force.
Insurers price the same house differently depending on what the inspection turned up, so one quote built on accurate answers can land far from another built on guesses. Before you're locked into a policy your lender will hold you to for years, it's worth seeing what a few insurers actually charge once they know the roof's real age and the repairs you've made.
What if the inspection found something I don't understand?
Inspection reports are written for someone with more training than you have, and they often flag things that sound worse than they are. A note about moisture staining in the attic or deferred maintenance on the electrical panel is a reason to ask the inspector or a contractor what it actually means. Do this before you decide how to answer an insurance application. If you don't know whether something counts as damage or just wear, find out rather than guessing in either direction.
Some findings matter to an insurer and some don't. A missing handrail or a cracked walkway is a safety issue a lender or inspector might flag, but it has little to do with what your policy covers. Roof condition, the age of the electrical panel, signs of past water intrusion and the state of the plumbing are the ones insurers ask about directly, because those drive both the price and whether they'll write the policy at all. If your report is long, it helps to separate the items that affect coverage from the ones that are just a list of things to fix eventually.
If the report includes photos or a contractor's estimate for something like a roof repair or a panel upgrade, keep that paperwork. It can back up what you tell the insurer, particularly if you get the work done before closing and want the policy priced on the repaired condition instead of the one in the report. An insurer asking for supporting documents is not unusual, and having them ready can move things along instead of slowing down a binder your lender is waiting on.
When a finding is genuinely uncertain, such as an inspector noting the roof appears to be a certain age without records to confirm it, say what the report says and note the uncertainty. Don't round to a number that sounds better. An insurer can usually work with 'approximately 12 years, per inspection' more easily than with a flat number that turns out to be wrong later. The goal on the application is the same as the goal with the inspector. Give an accurate picture of the house as it stands, not the house as you'd like it to be.
What if I don't agree with something the inspector wrote?
Inspectors sometimes get it wrong, or write something in a way that overstates the problem. If the report says the roof needs replacement and you think it has years left, the application isn't the place to settle that argument. Get a second opinion from a roofer before you answer, and keep that assessment with your paperwork. Telling the insurer what a licensed contractor found is different from telling them what you'd prefer to be true.
The same goes for anything the inspector flagged as active damage versus something old and already stable. A water stain on a ceiling could be from a leak that was fixed two years ago, not an ongoing problem. If you have records, a repair invoice, a statement from the seller, anything showing the issue was resolved, that's worth having on hand when you answer the application or if the insurer follows up. Without it, the insurer has only the inspection report to go on, and it will likely ask about the issue as if it's current.
There's a difference between disputing a finding and ignoring one. If a roofer confirms the inspector was wrong about the roof's condition, you're answering the application accurately when you go with the roofer's assessment instead. If you just don't like what the inspection says and have no basis to contradict it, answering as though it said something else is the kind of misstatement that can unravel a claim later. The standard is what you can support, not what you hope holds up.
Sellers sometimes push back on inspection findings too, and it's worth remembering the report reflects the house on the day it was inspected. If repairs happen between the inspection and closing, whether the seller does them or you do after you own the house, update what you tell the insurer to match. A policy priced on an outdated report, in either direction, is a policy priced on the wrong house.
Before you bind the policy
Pull up the inspection report one more time and match it against what you're about to tell the insurer. If anything's changed since the inspection, a repair done or a question still open, settle it now, not after a claim.
